I walked past a bin full of books at Uni on Tuesday, all being thrown out. I lifted the lid and the first thing that i saw was a battered book with the Statue of Liberty, USA, on the cover. The first page i opened said this
How happy I am on my government claim,
Where I've nothing to lose and nothing to gain,
Nothing to eat and nothing to wear,
Nothing from nothing is honest and square.
But here I am stuck and here I must stay,
My money's all gone and I can't get away;
There's nothing will make a man hard and profane
Like starving to death on a government claim.
It resonated deeply given that my social policy lectures are based completely on the welfare state. Even spookier is that Julia Gillard today announced her plan for stricter welfare provisions for the approaching budget. So I originally just thought this little bit was well done and sad, it is now a spooky start to the week! Just like this cat and diamond necklace.
